2. Brown 1978: 1.105–6.
3. Brown 1978: 1.107–9; cf. Schneiders 1993: 128.
4. Keener 2005: 1.501.
5. Carson 1991: 169.
6. Cf. Brown 1978: 1.517.
7. John gives the capacity of each jar as “two or three measures,” one “measure” being equivalent to almost forty liters, and thus six jars will hold 480–720 liters; Schnackenburg 1980–84: 1.332; Ridderbos 1997: 107.
8. The Greek word architriklinos means “head waiter, butler” or, more aptly to the context, “master of the feast”; BDAG, 139.
9. See Kruse 2008: 95–96.
10. Kruse 2008: 96–97.
11. Kruse 2008: 100.
12. Keener 2005: 1.524.
13. The Greek word naos, used here and in 2:20, represents the whole temple and not the sanctuary alone.
14. Keener 2005: 1.527–31.
15. Hoskyns 1961: 194.
16. Neither the temple repaired by Herod the Great nor the second temple, built under the leadership of Zerubbabel, took forty-six years to construct. It is probable that the specification of forty-six years includes the whole period of Persian kings, Cyrus and Darius (559–513 BCE), in whose time the second temple was built; see Kanagaraj 2005: 110, 113 n. 34.
17. Carson 1982: 59–91; Kanagaraj 1998a: 305–7.
18. Barrett 1978: 75–78.
John 3
Testimonies of Jesus and the Baptist
John next narrates Jesus’ ministry to three individuals: Nicodemus, a Samaritan woman, and a royal official, who belong to Judea, Samaria, and Galilee respectively (John 3–4). This shows that Jesus is interested in each individual and his purpose is to bring people of all cultures, regions, and languages into his community.
Jesus’ Testimony before Nicodemus (3:1–21)
Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus (3:1–12)
Nicodemus was a Jew, “a man of the Pharisees” and “a ruler of the Jews” (3:1). The designation “ruler” shows his position in the Jewish council (7:50–51). He was “the teacher of Israel” (3:10) who was searching for heavenly truth. So Nicodemus met Jesus, obviously in Jerusalem. By knowing Nicodemus’s inner thirst, Jesus initiates his teaching on the necessity of new birth in order to experience life in the kingdom of God (3:3, 5).
Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. It could have been for secrecy, because many Pharisees were opposing Jesus; or night-time could have been simply a convenient time for him and Jesus; or it could be in line with the custom of the rabbis to study the Law and converse about divine things at night.1 Nevertheless, the twice-repeated remark that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night (3:2; 19:39) makes the symbolic meaning more probable. In John, “night” denotes darkness, an impossible time to do good work and the absence of light causing people to stumble in life because of their evil deeds (3:19–21; 9:4–5; 11:10; 12:35, 36, 46; 13:30). John thus implies that Nicodemus came from the dark sphere of his life to Jesus, the Light that enlightens every human. Nevertheless, many scholars take Nicodemus negatively.2 However, John seems to admire the initial stage of Nicodemus’s faith and shows him later as the one who spoke for Jesus in the Jewish council (7:45–52) and who gave a royal burial to him (19:30–42).
Nicodemus was impressed with the signs that Jesus performed and hence believed that Jesus was a teacher who came from God with divine power (3:2). In this sense, he represents those who believed in Jesus after seeing his signs (2:23). At the initial stage, Nicodemus had only partial understanding of Jesus (cf. 4:19; 9:30–32, 36).
Jesus knew Nicodemus’s imperfect knowledge and equally his inner thirst for heavenly reality. Therefore he tells him, by using the phrase “Truly, truly, I say to you,” that only those who are born from above can experience heavenly life under God’s rule (3:3). The Greek word anōthen used has two meanings: “again” and “from above” (3:31; 19:11, 23; cf. 8:23). Both meanings complement each other, for the experience of being born again (“new birth”) comes from God who is above (1:13). The idea of becoming children of God by a new birth (1:12–13) is developed in 3:3 as the prerequisite to enter the kingdom of God (cf. Matt 18:3). The new community of Jesus is a community that comes under God’s rule by experiencing new birth from above.
The same idea of being born from above is explained by Jesus in 3:5, after Nicodemus expressed his non-understanding of birth from above by his question, “How can a person be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” (3:4). John uses the literary technique of non-understanding so that the heavenly truth may be revealed clearly. John 3:3 and 3:5 are mutually interpreting. The word “seeing” in 3:3 is replaced by “entering” and the word “from above” by “of water and Spirit” in 3:5. “Seeing” in John means both physical sight and spiritual perception. It denotes “experiencing” or “tasting” (3:36; 8:51, 53) divine life by the power of God’s Spirit. Thus, “seeing” and “entering” are identical in meaning. However, “entering” emphasizes the act of coming into the realm of God’s reign and see God as King. What is the meaning of “water and spirit” which interprets “from above”?
The main issue of interpretation concerns whether the term “water” refers to a baptism of repentance or to the Jewish proselyte baptism or to Christian baptism. Almost all scholars agree that “spirit” here means the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which brings regeneration (see Ezek 36:25–27, where “water” symbolizes the Spirit of God). That water baptism is a prerequisite for entering the kingdom of God is found neither in the NT nor in any other Christian writings. Even the Baptist’s baptism is a symbol of repentance only and is superseded by the coming of Christ, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit (1:26–27, 33). In John’s Gospel, “water” is mainly used as a symbol for the Holy Spirit, who will lead the receipient to eternal life (John 4:14–15; 7:37–39; cf. Ezek 47:9). One can say that in 3:5 water and Spirit are used synonymously, one being the symbol and the other reality. It is the Spirit that enables one to be reborn into the family of God and thus to come under the rule of God. The meaning of 3:3 and 3:5
